becomingbuffypodcast

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Empty places has accidentally grown to be one of my favourite episodes purely because I love the vitriol from podcast hosts when it's time for it. Like hohoho I can't wait to hear them roast this!

Anyways you have a really great podcast it's been such a joy listening to it. Thank you.

That's so funny! That episode is pure rage bait imo. I love that our hatred for it is probably the closest the Buffy community will get to being united on something 😂.

Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to share them with us! It means a lot. Enjoy the last few episodes!

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Who has the best redemption arc in the buffyverse?

I apologize for being late in answering this--I just saw it! Personally, I have to say Faith. I think she has the benefit of being in both shows for the perfect amount of time before Whedon and Co. ran out of story and decided to deconstruct her character lol. She also was able to leave the shows during the time she was "atoning", which added to the believability of such a drastic character change when she came back.

Honorary mention to Spike in season 5 of AtS because it was so refreshing to see him come into his own and really embrace doing the right thing for the right reasons while not losing his "devil-may-care" attitude. Honestly, kudos to the writers for not watering down both those fun characters in an effort to redeem them. They're still themselves--rough around the edges, irreverent, but trying to do the right thing.

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Hi! Just discovered and currently binge-listening your podcast! Love the balance of well done research, thoughtful discussion, and fan silliness! I really appreciate how thoughtfully you guys unpack even plot points and characters you don't like. When I do like the parts you guys don't, I still feel included in the discussion because you cover it intelligently instead of turning into haters snarking at fans who disagree. (there are other btvs pods I can't enjoy because of that) Anyway love it, thanks for all the work! Will be subscribing soon to enjoy the spoiler content!

Hi! This is the sweetest thing, and also the best compliment you could give us! First of all, thank you for giving us a chance and listening to us--it means so much. Secondly, we do try to be fair even if we aren't always successful, and we want people to feel comfortable listening even if they don't agree. So it is encouraging that you're able to disagree but not feel irritated or belittled for having a different take than us. We obviously have our bias' (who doesn't?) but we truly love the show and want you to feel the freedom to love it too, in your own unique way. Thank you so much for reaching out and happy listening!

💛 Sarah

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My girls

will you train her?.. or will they send someone else?

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This this this this.

the reason buffy summers is a much better protagonist than a lot of the main characters in other teen supernatural shows is that those characters tend to be good people in a passive, boring way. they're generally nice and care about doing good, but they're rarely placed in situations where they have to make difficult decisions with no good outcomes, or pushed to extremes that force them to contend with the ugliest parts of themselves. btvs meanwhile is absolutely obsessed with the idea that passivity is inherently unethical. as such, in order for buffy to be a good person, she constantly has to make active choices. she never gets to be indecisive in the face of a moral dilemma. she always has to choose, to make tough calls, and that makes her genuine heroism and goodness far more compelling than a character who's just kind of passively nice.

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“There were a lot of other reasons I didn’t go back, but one was that I didn’t want Tara to go bad. As an actor, of course, it appeals to me to play kind of evil and bitchy and sexy, but, as a human being who gets letters that say, I didn’t kill myself because of what you and Alyson did, that part of me goes, you’re not just an actor any more you’re making a social commentary now, baby. You’ve got to be responsible.

I had had some issues with somebody on the show, and it had kind of come to a head as I was getting ready to leave. Leaving the show was sad because there are some of the crew and the writers and some of the cast that I just adore, but I had made my peace with that person and the show and I was done..And then all the shit hit the fan and Joss realized he had messed up.. I truly, for all of his faults and for all of the things about him that are frustrating, I don’t think he ever meant to hurt the LGBTQ+ community. …But I didn’t want to come back. He really wanted me to come back and we just couldn’t come to an agreement on it.”

Benson also had lost trust in feeling like Tara, who mean a great deal to a great many fans, would be granted grace—something her character had not been afforded in her unceremonious death. “I didn’t really trust what was going to happen to the character. I think that’s something if you’ve talked to some other cast, people are like ‘Yeah, I came back…and then he just did what he wanted. Even though he told me that he wasn’t going to kill me in this way, he killed me in that way.’ I just didn’t feel super trusting of the situation. And I felt like people had already been really hurt by this. And I’m not the writer. I can’t decide what’s going to happen to this character…And so between the schedule, and not really having a hundred percent trust in what was going to happen and some other things, it just didn’t work out….I’m sad for people who loved the character and wanted to have her back. But I also think when you make a decision like Joss made and kill this character and not understand what was going to happen, sometimes you have to let the error lie so that people can learn from it.” -Amber Benson in "Into Every Generation"

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S7. Ep7. Conversations With Dead People

Awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, and named by Joss Whedon as one of his top 10 favorite episodes, “Conversations with Dead People” is one of only two episodes in the whole series that has the episode title appear on screen at the beginning and is the only episode with a specific date and time given. Interestingly, the date and time matched the original air date, which would have created a sense of a fourth-wall break for the audience, especially since there were no time jumps between commercial breaks.

Each of the four plots were written by a different writer, with Drew Goddard writing the Trio scenes, Jane Espenson writing the Dawn scenes, Marti Noxon writing the Willow scenes, and Joss Whedon writing the Buffy scenes. Scrapped ideas included The First appearing to Xander and Anya in the forms of Jesse and Halfrek; however neither Eric Balfour nor Kali Rocha were available, making this the only episode of the series where Xander does not appear in. Tara was also slated to return for the scenes with Willow, and the shooting script even includes all their scenes and dialogue in place of Cassie’s. Ultimately, Amber Benson turned down the appearance due to scheduling and a desire not to taint Tara’s character by having her appear as the villain.

In typical episode 7 fashion, “CwDP” jumps straight into the main season arc through the characters’ introduction to the big bad and the emphasis on the themes of connection vs fear/isolation. While entertaining, creepy, and surprisingly cohesive despite multiple storylines happening at once, what hampers the episode most is the season’s failure to deliver on the characterization, storylines, and plot points that it builds up in this moment. Sadly, this is the most terrifying that the First will ever be.

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💛 Becoming Buffy Podcast is a rewatch podcast that focuses on the themes, metaphors and foreshadowing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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S7. Ep6. Him

With callbacks and nods to many early episodes of Buffy, “Him” is a comedic episode that holds some of the funniest and cringiest moments of the series. At its surface, the title appears to refer to RJ and his impact on the women, but the cold opening's focus on Buffy’s feelings toward Spike suggests that the episode is actually about the two of them. RJ's letterman jacket, his love of poetry, and Buffy's obvious sexual desire for him all have parallels to Spike/William.

By highlighting Dawn’s adolescent feelings of not having a place “on the team,” the show compares her to Spike and Anya as newly reformed “outsiders.” Unsure of who they are, all three characters are displaced and in need of connection—a responsibility the show places on Buffy as the “captain of the team” and “rudder of the ship.”  

While it's encouraging that Buffy has learned the lesson from season 6 that asking for help takes bravery, and that supporting each other leads to strength and healing, it's frustrating that she feels obligated to help her abuser, and even more problematic that the show portrays it as her responsibility. Even more troubling is how the show uses Buffy’s conflicted romantic feelings for Spike as an example of his changed nature.

This episode marks Spike's reintegration into the Scooby gang, and while we're interested in seeing where his story will lead, his redemption shouldn't come at the expense of Buffy's own healing journey or the minimization of her feelings.

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💛 Becoming Buffy Podcast is a rewatch podcast that focuses on the themes, metaphors and foreshadowing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Sarah Michelle Gellar was only available for three days of shooting on this episode because of her wedding. Goddard said that her hair in this episode was her "wedding hair." Initially, they didn't want Buffy and the First to have the same hairstyle in this episode but Gellar was leaving for her wedding to Freddie Prinze Jr., and there was no additional time to change her look.

Kali Rocha was performing in the play Noises Off when season 7 was shooting. She flew in and filmed all her scenes ("Lessons" and this episode) on one day. She filmed her death before a green screen for later super-imposition into the scene.

Director Drew Goddard explained the Sjornjost scenes were written in Swedish, but he intended for the lines to be dubbed badly in English, so Emma Caulfield and Abraham Benrubi were told that they did not need to memorize the Swedish that carefully because it would not be heard. Both actors memorized all of the alleged Swedish words phonetically, and the show creators were so pleased with their performances they decided to subtitle the scenes rather than dub them.

Goddard revealed he chose the name Aud for Anya's original human name because, while researching Viking names, he found a Viking king named Olaf who had a wife named Aud, known for her sense of humor and her ability to manage money. The description of Aud fit Anya so well Goddard had to use the name.

He also considered a flashback to Hush rather than to Once More, with Feeling, but decided that it would be difficult to show Anya defining herself through Xander without dialogue. He asked Joss Whedon to write a song for Emma Caulfield Ford. Whedon refused, arguing he was too busy (he was working on Firefly and Buffy at the same time). The day after, Whedon showed up with the song, saying he could not stop thinking about it.

Goddard says that the moment Anya is on the floor and Buffy raises the sword over her head, Anya lays unmoving because she wants to die.

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#selfless

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Technically the first and only Anya-centric episode of the series, “Selfless” represents season 7 at its peak, as it uses the years of character dynamics and history to tell us something new about the Scoobies. The episode title refers to both Anya’s lack of self, as she begins to parallel Willow and Spike in their personal quests for self-discovery, while also referencing a key aspect of Buffy’s role as the Slayer. In contrasting Anya’s position as a vengeance demon with Buffy’s position as the Law, the show gives us an example of the difference between vengeance and justice--selflessness.

A main philosophy of the show is the need to discover our authentic self, and to do this we must experience a death consciousness so “as to wake ourselves up to what is really important.” -Sartre. For her entire existence Anya has allowed others to define her, and in turn, has used vengeance as a tool to selfishly define or, “read the hearts” of the women she claims to help. Yet it is Buffy’s use of her sword, a symbol of power and justice, that pierces Anyanka’s heart and wakes her up to the reality of herself and her situation.

In enacting justice on Anya and even Angel, her friend and her lover, Buffy balances power and control, and acts in opposition to the First Evil’s philosophy: that to be powerful is to take what one wants, ignoring the balance of right and wrong. This allows Willow to finally understand Buffy’s words that being a Slayer is “something she couldn’t even conceive of.”

Being a Slayer is putting aside your own feelings at times and making the judgment call you don’t want to make. It’s holding yourself accountable for those choices that you make and putting yourself on the front line because you have the power and the responsibility that goes alone with that power. It’s agonizing over decisions and then finally having to just make a decision because at the end of the day, no one else can but you. It’s putting a sword through your lover’s heart, even when your own heart feels like it’s being torn out of your chest.

It means being Selfless.

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S7. Ep4. Help

In one of the clearest call backs to the early seasons of the show, “Help” is a bittersweet episode that ultimately sets the foundation for Buffy’s motivations and fears for the rest of the season. Mark Field talks about how episode 4’s “show us in metaphor the challenge Buffy will face in the season….In the context of the season as a whole, this is a key moment – It defines Buffy’s problem for the season arc just as Out of My Mind defined Buffy’s problem in S5, Flooded introduced Buffy’s avoidance of adulthood, and Fear, Itself showed Buffy and the Scoobies separated by their fears but united at the end. Much of the season will explore possible solutions to Buffy’s questions.”

For seasons Buffy has fought against the idea of fate and it dictating her life, with even Joyce questioning her ability to bring about real change in “Gingerbread.” The cold open echoes this with Xander asking about the importance of slaying “one, lousy potential vampire” and Buffy grimly responding, “vampire-by-vampire. It’s the only way I know how.” The word “potential” is significant in its foreshadowing of Buffy’s determination to save each and every girl…one potential at a time.

“Help” highlights Buffy’s frustrations for the remainder of the season as she wrestles with the limits of her power. After all, if there is nothing she can do to change fate, should Buffy even try? And maybe more importantly--if the system is set up to fail, is it perhaps a flawed system?

This episode underscores the evolution of Buffy’s perspective on Slaying, contrasting her season one sense of obligation with the more urgent sense of necessity she feels in season seven. Just as Giles said to Willow in regard to her power in “Lessons,” “you may not be wanted. But you will be needed.” In the end, the vampires keep coming and girls keep dying, and while Buffy Summers will always be there to bridge the gap, she can’t help but wonder—what happens when my power is not enough?

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💛 Becoming Buffy Podcast is a rewatch podcast that focuses on the themes, metaphors and foreshadowing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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S7. Ep3. Same Time, Same Place

Reminiscent of season 1's "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" in its themes of being seen and accepted, "Same Time, Same Place" is a refreshing and hopeful episode that centers around the Scooby gang and their friendships. Coincidentally, this is the only episode of the series to not feature any guest stars billed at the start of the episode.

Gnarl is portrayed by Camden Toy, one of the Gentleman from "Hush," with Toy stating that this was his favorite guest appearance on the show. He will also appear later this season as the Turok-Han, as well as in Angel season 5 as the Prince of Lies.

Last season saw the Scoobies isolating themselves out of shame, and it is this same fear that causes Willow to accidentally cast a spell preventing herself from seeing and being seen. For seasons, we've seen Willow hide behind various costumes—not only out of fear that her true self will be rejected by others, but also due to her own lack of self-acceptance. Interestingly, Willow's spell does not effect Spike and Anya, as their own spotty pasts allow both them and her to see each other clearly.

The scene between Buffy and Willow is one of the most poignant in the series, as they begin to heal both physically and emotionally through their connection. Both girls truly see and understand each other on a deeper level, with Buffy accepting and forgiving Willow's past, while Willow gains insight into the isolation and loneliness Buffy faces because of her power.

This season will explore the many facets of power: how it isolates, burdens, and threatens to harden those who hold it, while fostering fear and resentment in those who don't. Yet through all that is to come, may this moment be a reminder to both us and Buffy that connection eases the burden of power, drives away fear and makes way for healing.

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💛 Becoming Buffy Podcast is a rewatch podcast that focuses on the themes, metaphors and foreshadowing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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“Beneath You” is technically a Spike centric episode, with him paralleling Willow in her feelings of shame, and contrasting Anya in gaining his soul. The title refers to the coming apocalypse, Ronnie being turned into a worm, and echoes Buffy’s words to Spike in “Fool for Love” that he’s beneath her.

The episode tackles Spike's past assault on Buffy, conveying to both her and the audience that his newfound soul now torments him due to his past sins. Yet, in their eagerness to separate the old Spike from the new, the show focuses primarily on the attempted rapist’s thoughts and feelings, and barely on the emotions of the person that was almost raped.

Additionally, the show portrays Spike’s mental instability, the pain of his soul, and his torment by the Big Bad to reframe him and make his redemption more palatable for the viewer. They use this to sympathetically depict him as a helpless victim who selflessly sought a soul for the woman he loved. This not only contradicts the message at the end of Season 6, but also shows that even with a soul, Spike remains driven by a woman—just like he was before.

Spike’s claim that he got a soul for Buffy, despite her never asking him to, implies she’s partly to blame for his pain and prevents her from expressing her own feelings, as she now feels guilty and responsible. In emphasizing Spike and his soul over Buffy’s thoughts and emotions, the show tells us that her (the victim) feelings don’t matter because he’s (the abuser) changed.

And all this does is affirm that the entire point of “Seeing Red” was to further Spike’s storyline off of Buffy’s trauma—thereby reducing her to a plot device on her own show.

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💛 Becoming Buffy Podcast is a rewatch podcast that focuses on the themes, metaphors and foreshadowing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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“I remember Joss sitting down with us when we did our state of the Onion discussion where we kind of looked at where we were as the season was ending and what we wanted to look forward to in the next season,” recalls Drew Greenberg. “And I remember him saying Okay that got dark. It got dark for everybody. I think I’d like to maybe give a little hope now.”

“We had a few things in mind with season seven,” said Whedon. “One, everybody was tired of being depressed, including us. Two, this was the last season. Three, let’s get back to where we started. Let’s go back to the beginning. Not the word, not the bang, but the real beginning. And the real beginning is girl power. The real beginning is what does it mean to be a Slayer? And not to feel guilty about the power, but having seen the dark side of it, to find the light again.”

The announcement of the show’s ending happened between the 16th and 17th episodes of the season with an Entertainment Weekly cover of SMG. However, not everybody was notified.

”The day that the Entertainment Weekly cover came out -- that was the day we all found out 'Buffy' was over. I was devastated. I was just very shocked," -Alyson Hannigan

Joss: “The fact is most of the cast not only knew it was the last year but were very glad of it. However, some of the crew did not know, which was totally my bonehead mistake. The actors did know and they kind of sucked up some energy from the crew. They just felt an official announcement should have been made before it was on the cover of a magazine, and they’re not wrong. I just was like, “we’ve known this from the beginning of the year.” It was just about paying respect.”

“I definitely feel like we left before we jumped the shark. It really felt right and was the right time. People were glad to be out of the dark pit of despair, so that’s good. Everybody was very positive about the final year, so it felt like a good time to say goodbye. I actually feel we could have gone on. There were fresh ideas. I do think that it would have been harder and hard to make it feel like we weren't treading over the same territory, but do feel like we could have gone on." -Marti Noxon

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S7. Ep1. Lessons

“Lessons” is a strong opening to season 7, mainly because it contrasts S6 in its sense of purpose and direction. The combination of nostalgia and renewed energy, as well as the implication of the show’s end, add a feeling of excitement and anticipation. Not only is the theme of the season directly stated, but the main villain is introduced, albeit not by name.

There’s a lot of talk about power, lessons, and learning, with Buffy emphasizing to Dawn that “it’s always real.” Joss’ philosophy for the show is heavily influenced by Sartre’s belief that an individual’s “concepts of authenticity and individuality have to be earned but not learned.” Or as Giles says in response to Willow’s desire to be herself, “in the end, we are all who we are.” Sartre believed that we needed to experience “death consciousness” in order to wake up and understand what is important and authentic in our lives--what’s real. In S6 the Scoobies used various coping mechanisms to avoid facing themselves and their fears, and S7 will be about them learning who they are and what their purpose is as they continue to overcome those fears.

In contrast to Sartre and Existentialism, the Big Bad espouses a very nihilistic philosophy that rejects the ideas of free will and right vs wrong, believing them to be man-made “fabrications” born of powerless men. All Things Philosophical writes: “Nietzsche called the distinction between good and evil "slave morality", which he believed developed from the resentment felt by the weak towards the powerful…The self-possessed man, the Superman, doesn't buy into these concepts; he does what is in his own best interests and takes what he wants. "It's not about right. Not about wrong," the evil says. "It's about power."

That line, first said by Buffy, then echoed by her evil reflection, offers a warning to our heroine this season:

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee." -Nietzche

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S6 offers an interesting discussion on society and power that is particularly relevant today. On the surface, the Trio are three nerds who exploit the earth’s resources through the weaponization of magic and technology, driven by their own insecurity and entitlement. However, the deeper narrative examines the system that enables and benefits these men, offering a social commentary on the marginalized individuals they exploit to maintain their power.

Buffy’s resurrection against her will, followed by her immediate return to the workforce, mirrors her forced role as a Slayer, and the commodifying of her life, power, and abilities by the Watcher’s Council. Neither system provides support or acknowledges the toll on her mental health, and Buffy is labelled immature, selfish, or irresponsible if she fails to 'do her job'. Required to work alone yet criticized if she isolates herself. Mired in guilt if she doesn’t do enough yet doomed to never be enough for those around her. Afraid to live an unfulfilled life if she walks away from her calling, yet constantly sacrificing bits of herself anyway.

Historically, vampires have symbolized powerful, wealthy, and white men who exploit the marginalized and feed off their labor. Unfortunately, even some of the romanticization of Spike and the demonization of Buffy (both in fan discourse and on the show) is yet another example of how society holds men and women in power at different standards. This season, Spike's role was to manipulate and seduce Buffy by tapping into her self-hatred and desire for control over her life. By using Spike to feel something, Buffy begins to resemble the thing she was created to destroy, and out of isolation and desperation, buys into the belief that gaining power requires taking it from someone else.

In much of modern vampire media, the solution to the power imbalance is for the woman to ultimately choose to become a vampire, leveling the playing field between men and women. Yet Buffy remains subversive, as she rejects the lure of absolute power and carves her own path toward a shared power that builds up and gives back, instead of consuming.

PC: @jordanmatthewstelck

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In an Academy of TV Arts and Sciences Panel Discussion regarding Season Six, show creator Joss Whedon makes it clear that during his trials in Africa, Spike was trying to regain his soul (not to remove his chip) all along. The dialogue that many audience members took to mean that Spike's goal was chip removal was deliberately misleading, so his re-ensouling would come as a surprise twist.

Spike receiving his soul was kept largely secret from the cast, including James Marsters. He was initially told that Spike was going to get his chip out - which James was not happy about as he wanted the character to move forward, not regress. The plot and performance were so convincing, fans debated throughout the summer if Spike wanted his soul or merely wanted his chip out, but received his soul as a trick from the demon.

"Spike looked into his ["]soul["] at that moment in the bathroom in seeing red, and saw the demon in him, and that's what made him want to go get a soul ...And when he says "I want Buffy to have what she deserves" -- give the Slayer what she deserves -- he means a lover with a soul. We did mislead on you all, led you to believe it was the chip. We knew all the time that he wanted his soul back. If all he wanted to do was hurt Buffy, he could have hurt Buffy so he didn't need the chip out." -Jane Espenson

“The thing is, I didn’t know Spike was getting a soul. Even filming the scene where it happens, there were three different versions of that scene I had to memorize and the one we finally filmed was a fourth. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I didn’t know why I went to Africa. I didn’t know if I was going there to get something to kill Buffy with. I had no idea. Spike kept saying, “I’m going to give her what she deserves. “ So Joss completely fooled me. I didn’t even have the line, “I will give you back your soul!” and they’re rolling. It was cut and move on and I’m like…James looks around in complete confusion. “Angel 2, yeah!” But that was the immediate problem is you cannot go where Angel has gone. You don’t follow up the banjo act with a banjo act.” -James Marsters

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